New Delhi, Jan 18 (IANS) With the Lok Sabha polls a few months away, the ruling Congress party is seriously preparing the ground for the electoral battle. It has hired two advertising agencies for the campaign strategy and will be holding a grass roots- level convention of party workers to discuss ways to target voters.Sources in the Congress told IANS that two advertising agencies - James Walter Thompson (JWT) and Crayons - have been hired to prepare the campaign strategy for the parliamentary elections slated for April-May.

“Two companies, JWT and Crayons, have been hired for the campaign strategy. JWT would provide the concept and idea for the campaign and the execution would be dealt with by Crayons,” a source in the All India Congress Committee said.

In its attempt to reach out to every voter group, different campaign strategies would be evolved, like the use of electronic media and internet, the source told IANS.

To get inputs from its grass root level, the Congress will be holding a convention of the party’s top district and block level officials in the first week of February and prepare a strategy accordingly.

“Such conventions help us to understand the needs of the workers and voters at the grass root level. We get valuable inputs from our workers and that helps us in preparing a better strategy for the elections,” said B.K. Hari Prasad, Congress general secretary.

Almost 7,000 Congress workers and officials are expected to participate in this convention.

The Congress is also trying to pool in young energy for campaigning in the upcoming elections.

“We are holding regular meetings of the Youth Congress and are chalking out plans for the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. The Youth Congress would be playing a major role in taking the policies undertaken by the government to the people,” Jitender Singh, AICC secretary of Youth Congress told IANS.